50 cal will most likely not catch on until there is a reliable and cheap 50 cal rental (like the 98's of the .68 world) and 50 cal paint is sold at feilds

I found it quite interesting that Tippmann took a stand and stated that they would not be producing any 50 caliber markers. This is obviously the "new" Tippmann that took that stance. I don't think the old guard would have done that. They are going to have to do some back pedaling now that they took that stance if they want to get into that market. Let's face it, a good dependable 50 caliber marker that could hold up to rental abuse would most likely have a potential market for 100,000 units or more from field owners alone. Silly move to categorically cut yourself out of that market.

I found it quite interesting that Tippmann took a stand and stated that they would not be producing any 50 caliber markers. This is obviously the "new" Tippmann that took that stance. I don't think the old guard would have done that.

I disagree with that statement. The "old guard" had experience with alternative calibers. They tried .62 cal from the very beginning, but didn't really take off until adopting the more standard caliber, with the smaller caliber stuff getting filed under "bad idea".

I disagree with that statement. The "old guard" had experience with alternative calibers. They tried .62 cal from the very beginning, but didn't really take off until adopting the more standard caliber, with the smaller caliber stuff getting filed under "bad idea".

Yes, but as a business, it's never good to slam doors shut. It's always best to leave your options open. The current Tippmann management basically wanted to side with the "players" and against Italia and stated that they would never build 50 caliber. That's slamming a door shut. Now that 50 cal seems to be gaining ground with field owners, wouldn't it be nice to have the option to cater to that market?

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the old owners would have made a bad business decision like that, but I seem to recall that they used a little more common sense.

I disagree with that statement. The "old guard" had experience with alternative calibers. They tried .62 cal from the very beginning, but didn't really take off until adopting the more standard caliber, with the smaller caliber stuff getting filed under "bad idea".

As far as a "filed under bad idea" goes, that was when Tippmann tried to directly compete with 68 caliber (as Italia seemed to try to do with 50 caliber). 50 caliber seems to be increasing steam on it's own merit as being different enough from 68 caliber and thereby creating a different ad separate market from the traditional 68 caliber market (not a replacement).

Do you mean the JT splatmasters for gaining ground? Sure I see those at my field for younger kid parties, but in a real game nope!

Just my 2 cents but everything in paintball right now is geared for accuracy at range and accuracy in general. Basically being able to hit and break a paintball at the intended target. I know someone is reading this right now and throwing the penalty flag based on how much paint players carry, but really the ideal marker, barrel, hopper, air supply, regulator, and paintball combo is DESIGNED TO MARK PLAYERS "ACCURATELY". 68 cal breaks more consistently and flies further at a given velocity as compared to 50 cal all based on its mass. Having 2 different calibers means the hassle of conversion kits or different markers completely. Where 50 cal is not dead, I do not see it as becoming mainstream.

In order for this to change the cost of shooting them (50 cal) would have to be drastically less than 68. Simply put 68 is established and paintball is not growing enough to support 2 calibers in the mainstream. Heck it can't really support 2 pro leagues NPPL and PSP. So without massive savings to be seen why would a player toss his $1000 marker, buy another one for 50 cal, and demand 50 cal be sold at their local field?

How much .68 do you sell in the same time frame, and what is the mark up of each?

custar

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This here is wholly irrelevant. Just saying, if they sell more tournament .68 and more rec .50 then the markup is going to have a completely different ratio, or vice versa if they sell rec .68 or rec .50.

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This here is wholly irrelevant. Just saying, if they sell more tournament .68 and more rec .50 then the markup is going to have a completely different ratio, or vice versa if they sell rec .68 or rec .50.

Horizon owns a field, and hateyou was posting about how much he sold at his field or the field at which he works. If the sale of a box of .50 with a mark up of, say for instance, $20.00 displaces a sale of .68 with a mark up of, say also for instance, $25.00, the field owner has to take that into consideration. I am not sure what ratio you are referencing because mark up is per box, not a ratio between tournament grade vs. rec grade. On the other side of that coin, if the selling price of .50 is low enough that players will buy three boxes of .50 vs. 2 boxes of .68 with the above mark ups, the field owner also needs to take that into consideration. So, mark up is relevant for field owners. Just sayin'.

custar

__________________Are the Geisterjagers over the top?
Well, let's just say "The Top" is barely a speck in our rear view mirror.

"That the said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United states who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms..."

So what's the argument here? I'm confused. Why are people afraid to evolve? If as a collective community we continue to move laterally we will never grow. Let's try new things , if they don't work they will be phased out. Paintball is just like nature. Dumb animals go extinct , so do dumb products. Example the assault 80 ( Google it ).ultimately the market will decide for us.

Paintball will only become a national sport like basketball or football, when schools start to build teams. Plain and simple. There are several ways to do it, but firsts things first, and thats paint. Paint needs to be cheaper, and 50 cal is the answer in my opinion. Anybody can buy a soccer ball or a football, and start practicing, but paint is obviouslly the achilles heel of paintball. If companies would stop depending on paint for their bottom line, and start focusing on expanding the game with professional fields throughout the country using cheap paint, they could produce more revenue from merchandise and equipment. Just like all other companies do in any other sport. Footballs are not the cows teat in the NFL, so paintball companies need to balls up and come up with a better strategy.

Paintball will only become a national sport like basketball or football, when schools start to build teams. Plain and simple. There are several ways to do it, but firsts things first, and thats paint. Paint needs to be cheaper, and 50 cal is the answer in my opinion. Anybody can buy a soccer ball or a football, and start practicing, but paint is obviouslly the achilles heel of paintball. If companies would stop depending on paint for their bottom line, and start focusing on expanding the game with professional fields throughout the country using cheap paint, they could produce more revenue from merchandise and equipment. Just like all other companies do in any other sport. Footballs are not the cows teat in the NFL, so paintball companies need to balls up and come up with a better strategy.

Yes, anyone can buy a soccer ball or football, but even if you make paintballs very cheap, players will still need to buy multiple amounts of paintballs. That will always be a variable expense, no matter what the cost is. Since more paintballs will always give you an advantage (all else being equal), players will still feel the need to buy more or at least as much as the other guys. So if you want to make a comparison, you will have to find a format where the cost to play is cheap AND fixed, meaning buying more paintballs cannot be used to create an advantage.

technically if you have a school and setup a turf airball field and use reballs then your costs would drop down since like a football reballs can be cleaned and reused. Not totally fixed but Footballs and Basketballs wear out too.

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technically if you have a school and setup a turf airball field and use reballs then your costs would drop down since like a football reballs can be cleaned and reused. Not totally fixed but Footballs and Basketballs wear out too.

I agree. Reballs would be the way to go. Another reason paintball (with real paintballs) would not go over well at schools is that paintballs left on the ground on school property will most likely be used for random vandalism by the kids. Paint can ruin the finish on many buildings and also ruins the finish on cars and kids being kids...